Goat

I just read in your letters section that a customer wanted to know why a fee of $7 appears on our bill as a "customer service" charge. I am not so aghast at that charge, it's the non-fuel charge that gets my goat. They have explained it several times to me and I still am at a loss. This is a charge for the electricity traveling through the lines. That's a mystery to me. My electric bill fuel usage was $19 this month. My non-fuel charge was over $40, making the total bill — with all the other nonsense charges and taxes — near $90. In the summer, my total bill is over $120 for a tiny condo.

So much of these NBA Finals tell why I'd never push this sport-writing gig on anyone. The deadlines. The groveling. The standing eight-reporters deep to hear San Antonio's Tim Duncan say: "This is a big game for us. " And then there are the other moments, the interesting moments, the ones like Saturday talking with Shane Battier on the edge of Sunday's Game 2. The job can surprise you in these moments, stretch you. Here, next to the practice floor,...

This dude got someone's goat. Detectives say Andrew Allen Brown, 22, went onto somebody's property, removed a 4-H ribbon-winning goat from a cage, shot it and then attempted to sell the meat, reports TCPalm.com in Stuart. The Vero Beach man is also accused of other thefts which involved electronics and jewelry, according to reports. It's time to separate this black sheep from the goats with some serious cage time. Get the DUHtails at TCPalm.com in Stuart.

The trio of Boca lifeguards had been seeing it for months - a little black goat on the side of the road, standing out against the palm trees of the beach side park. They decided it was time to catch him. It couldn't be safe there on the beach, with the other animals and the people and the cars, they reasoned. So, for almost an hour that Saturday, the three guys tore after the little beast in a wild chase, running and jumping through the seagrape trees at Spanish River Park. "And we finally got him," said lifeguard Johnny Santosuosso, 38. But a day later, the goat was gone.

The trio of Boca lifeguards had been seeing it for months - a little black goat on the side of the road, standing out against the palm trees of the beach side park. They decided it was time to catch him. It couldn't be safe there on the beach, with the other animals and the people and the cars, they reasoned. So, for almost an hour that Saturday, the three guys tore after the little beast in a wild chase, running and jumping through the seagrape trees at Spanish River Park. "And we finally got him," said lifeguard Johnny Santosuosso, 38. But a day later, the goat was gone.

The statue of Pan — the goat-man of Greek mythology, god of nature and shepherds, lover of nymphs — took off one day in December, with the help of a thief. It wasn't the first time he ran off, but that other time, 25 years ago, he mysteriously returned. Pan adorned the front yard of his owner, Andrew Aitken, standing watch over a small flower garden. He was a handsome, modest fellow, with a fig leaf, small goat horns and tight curly hair and beard. He had been in Aitken's family so long — five decades — that Aitken considered the little guy an heirloom.

They were at Silver Palm Park at about midnight on Monday, a group of about 20 people, hacking the heads off chickens, turkeys, even a goat, according to Saul Graber, who lives next door to the park. "To tell you the truth, it was a little frightening," he said. On Tuesday morning city parks workers found: a headless goat, drained of its blood, and a hacked-up turkey. The police report lists the incident as "possible cult activity." Boca Raton police Sgt. Robert Muth said on Tuesday night he is not aware of anything like this happening in the 13 years he has worked for the city.

The goat decapitator is back. An eleventh decapitated goat was found this week on a vacant lot in Fort Walton Beach, reports the Northwest Florida Daily News. Some sicko has been at this for nearly two years. When we blogged about it the first time, the total was nine. At the time, one pregnant goat still had her head but she had been raped -- by a man. We know what you're thinking. No, the guy didn't get her pregnant. Another goat is the daddy and that's all we're going to say.

Partly Cloudy, a retired thoroughbred racehorse, misses his playmate -- a gray and black goat with no horns named Butt Head. Until recently, Partly Cloudy and Butt Head lived happily at Pegasus Ranch, 5940 Griffin Road, in Davie. But Butt Head went missing on Oct. 16. Now his owner, Larry Schwendenmann of Miramar, is worried about the goat's well-being. "I am an HIV patient," Schwendenmann said Thursday. "The goat is a part of my therapy. The goat is a part of my family." Butt Head, who is friendly and likes to be petted, was a gift from a friend at Calder Race Track, he said.

When the night shift folks at the Boca Raton police department first started talking about a black goat they'd seen running loose in the city, people were more than a little skeptical. A goat in the manicured, beachside Boca? It didn't make sense. The sightings continued, but no one could so much as snap a picture of the creature. And so the mysterious black beast became the city's own version of Sasquatch or Nessie. Until Sunday. A 45-year-old man spotted the little guy wandering around a neighborhood off North Dixie Highway, tied him to a tree and called police, who rescued him. "It's an urban myth that became reality," Boca Police Chief Dan Alexander said.

I just read in your letters section that a customer wanted to know why a fee of $7 appears on our bill as a "customer service" charge. I am not so aghast at that charge, it's the non-fuel charge that gets my goat. They have explained it several times to me and I still am at a loss. This is a charge for the electricity traveling through the lines. That's a mystery to me. My electric bill fuel usage was $19 this month. My non-fuel charge was over $40, making the total bill — with all the other nonsense charges and taxes — near $90. In the summer, my total bill is over $120 for a tiny condo.

A minute after deputies got to Edgar Bica's Loxahatchee property, they heard what sounded like crying. The deputies had just gotten information that a hunting dog, severely gored by a hog, had wounds that were left untreated, according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office arrest report. But instead of a dog, deputies found a "severely emaciated" goat and a horse with a skin infection. The property in the 5400 block of 208th Drive on Oct. 3 appeared barren. Deputies said they couldn't find any grass or food and only a pail of water that was green with algae.

Here's one way to get your neighbors' goat. Shoot your goats. Matthew Walsh, 49, accused of shooting goats he had raised on his Odessa property, allegedly said he killed his pets so they could be eaten, reports WTSP CBS News-10 in Tampa. But hours later, neighbors reportedly found the dead goats, including several baby goats, rotting on the property and say Walsh shot the goats because they had escaped from a fence around his property, according to the report. Get the DUHtails at WTSP CBS News-10 in Tampa.

Shane Garnett Age: 6 School: Poinciana Elementary in Boynton Beach Grade: First Hometown: Lake Worth Pillar: Caring When Shane saw the importance of families in India having livestock, he set out on a fundraising mission. He worked nonstop selling many of his toys, asking friends and family for donations, giving his allowance and prized tooth fairy money and even looking for change on the ground. He challenged fellow students and others to match donations he was making.

What`s beige and brown and wobbly all over? A baby goat, of course. P.J., named after its father, Pierre, was born at the Broward County Fair at 6 a.m. Monday. He quickly became the most talked about attraction. As people entered the livestock tent, others, who had already watched P.J., directed the newcomers to his pen. "Somebody`s spreading the word," said Troy Gapko, who tends to the animals at the fair. "People are coming up asking, `Where`s the baby goat?` " "He`s so cute," said Gertrude Cohen, studying the goat as it followed its mother, Nikki.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has called for a boycott of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum Bailey Circus because four animals -- billed as "Living Unicorns" -- appear to be goats with surgically implanted horns. "My worst fear has apparently been realized," said John Kulberg, president of the ASPCA, Thursday. "They have undertaken to implant within the skull of the goat a foreign device -- a so-called unicorn." Kulberg said ASPCA investigators, including a veterinarian, became suspicious after they had been blocked from examining the animals on two occasions Wednesday.

Watermelon and goat cheese spears This refreshing summer nibble can easily be assembled in advance. Store refrigerated in an airtight container covered with a damp paper towel. Drizzle with oil and vinegar just before serving. This would also make a great salad course for a lunch or dinner party. Baby romaine leaves or butter leaf cups can be used in place of endive. If you don't like arugula, try frisee, baby spinach, watercress or sprouts. Fresh or dried fruits and a variety of cheeses are delicious combinations here, try fig and Parmigiano-Reggiano, dates and blue cheese or apricots with feta or goat cheese.

The statue of Pan — the goat-man of Greek mythology, god of nature and shepherds, lover of nymphs — took off one day in December, with the help of a thief. It wasn't the first time he ran off, but that other time, 25 years ago, he mysteriously returned. Pan adorned the front yard of his owner, Andrew Aitken, standing watch over a small flower garden. He was a handsome, modest fellow, with a fig leaf, small goat horns and tight curly hair and beard. He had been in Aitken's family so long — five decades — that Aitken considered the little guy an heirloom.